Kora Feder – “In a Young Person’s Body”
Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Kora Feder’s song “In a Young Person’s Body” from her forthcoming album Some Kind of Truth, which is set for release on March 18. The album was produced, engineered, and mixed by Justin Farren, and mastered by Eric Broyhill.
“In a Young Person’s Body” is Kora Feder on vocals; Andre Fylling on piano; and Mai Bloomfield on cello and background vocals. We had a chance to chat briefly with Kora about the song. The premiere appears just beneath the interview.
Americana Highways: How did this video come about?
John Prine died April 7, 2020, and that’s when I started writing this song. I was in lockdown in my small apartment in Philadelphia, feeling like I was aging a decade a minute. It ended up resonating with a lot of people after I submitted a video of me playing it to the Tiny Desk contest. NPR praised it for “eloquently illustrat[ing] the full range of emotions many people are feeling in the era of the coronavirus pandemic,” the Washington Post noted it was “about how self-quarantine has aged her,” and Eliza Gilkyson shared it on on Facebook, remarking “I have yet to hear anyone reach this deep to find it and sing it.”
AH: What was the production process like?
KF: When I brought this song to Justin for the record, I was hesitant about recording it with just my voice and guitar. I didn’t want a less-raw studio version of the original — this version needed its own story. Justin suggested I try it with piano, so I asked my partner Paul to play while I sang at home (conveniently, Paul is a great piano player). The moment he sat down and started, the song took on a life of its own. What he played that day was captured as a voice memo, and became the foundation for the final version.
Andre Fylling ultimately recorded the piano part for the album, effortlessly bringing Paul’s original spark to full bloom. The simplicity and richness of the arrangement were everything I’d hoped for. Unsure if the song needed anything more, Justin sent it to his friend Mai Bloomfield (known for her work with Jason Mraz and Leonard Cohen) to explore cello and background vocals. When Mai sent back her parts, we were floored — our initial reactions were filled with unrepeatable expletives of awe. I think of this new take as both fragile and full of power.
Thanks for chatting with us, Kora. The song is rich and vibrant and the sentiments are still all-too-real today: ‘it’s getting harder to sleep.” You can find the music and more information here on Bandcamp: https://korafeder.bandcamp.com/album/some-kind-of-truth, and also on all streaming services.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Miss the 60s? This Anthology Will Take You Back, plus Kora Feder and Bill Evans
